Unsinkable

There's an old Broadway (and movie) musical titled "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", about Margaret (no one ever called her "Molly") Brown and how she survived poverty, not being well educated and The Titanic. She was "unsinkable" in both her spirit and her luck. I'm going to remember that unsinkable attitude. Today, after much debate and creative accounting, I have to say goodbye to my Wednesday night session. My 8 session card ended last week, and I struggled to try to find a way to pay the outrageous fee for another 8 session card. Sadly, I can't. Between sign language classes and University classes, there just wasn't enough left over to justify paying over $300 for an 8 session card. That means the sessions are $39 each. I couldn't do it. So, with a heavy heart, I contacted my wonderful coach and told her that I couldn't return for Wednesdays, but would indeed be there on Saturdays. I had to leave a message as she wasn't available. I don't know how she feels about it. I understand that real estate in NYC is incredibly expensive, but a $39 session? Out in Long Island, for the amount of an 8 session card, I can purchase two 10 session cards. While I wouldn't have Amy with me, I'd have the opportunity to practice. That is, if it doesn't snow. I hate driving in the snow. I used to love it, but now that my car is so much lighter, I feel that I will be lifted up off the highway and set adrift into the eastern shore. Back to skating. I'm disappointed, mostly because things were finally starting to click; both on the ice and in my left knee. My knee doesn't hurt when I skate, only when I walk. Or stand. The Sunday skating club (which I am still substitute monitoring for) has an exhibition at the end of the season and I was so hoping to be able to participate. You see, there are some people who don't think I can actually skate. These are mostly parents. Non-skating parents. Because the Saturday session is so incredibly crowded, I'm not sure I'll be able to practice anything other than MIF. I can try. I would like to say thank you to all of you who read this, although, I wish you'd write back from time to time. It makes me feel as though you stumbled onto here by accident and can't figure out how to get off the page. I have a mental picture, very similar to a cat accidentally falling into a tub of water. Both you and the cat are surprised and shocked and can't get out of it soon enough. It's a funny picture. Wish rinks had more public sessions, but they seem to have gone the way of the horse-drawn wagon. The only ones are in the middle of the afternoon and I think my boss would frown on me saying, "See you in two hours; I gotta skate!" Or they're on Friday evenings when teenagers on dates go skating in pants that are either too tight or too loose and they fall down a lot. The teens, not the pants. This will all work out. I used to only skate once a week and somehow managed to keep my skills, so it's not like it's the end of the world. Just the end of Wednesday nights.